The present invention relates to a drip irrigation tube having dosing elements which are inserted therein and are connected to the walling of the drip irrigation tube, which dosing elements each comprise inlet regions—through which the water passes from the tube into the dosing elements—dosing regions, in which the pressure of the through-flowing water is reduced, and outlet regions through which the water issues out of the drip irrigation tube via outlet openings installed in the tube walling.
Such drip irrigation tubes are known in many forms. They are used in particular for directly irrigating plants. For this purpose, in the region of each plant the tube can have at least one dosing element installed therein, by means of which the water is emitted dropwise via an outlet opening and the respective plant is irrigated. Such drip irrigation tubes ensure that the water can be used very sparingly and efficiently.
During the irrigation procedure, the water in the drip irrigation tubes is subjected to a specific pressure. By reducing the pressure in the dosing regions of the dosing elements, the water issues dropwise out of the drip irrigation tubes through the outlet openings. If the irrigation via the drip irrigation tubes is interrupted or stopped, the pressure of the water in the drip irrigation tubes reduces. Since the drip irrigation tubes follow, over their lengths in the cultures to be irrigated, the unevenness or inclinations of the soil, the water located in the drip irrigation tubes will run back to the lowest point of the drip irrigation tube. This produces a negative pressure in certain regions of the drip irrigation tubes, thereby causing a suction effect at the outlet openings of the drip irrigation tubes. This suction effect can cause particles of dirt from the surrounding ground soil to be sucked in and to pass into the dosing region of the dosing elements. This can lead to the dosing element becoming blocked; the desired irrigation of the plants located in the region of this outlet opening is disrupted, which can lead to these plants becoming withered or even dying back.
Various types of drip irrigation tubes are known. In particular, in the case of thin-walled tubes dosing elements are inserted which are in the form of a disk or endless band, into which the structures of the dosing element are stamped. These drip irrigation tubes are pressed flatly in the “resting state”. In the case of thicker-walled drip irrigation tubes which are laid e.g. in the ground soil, dosing elements which comprise a hollow-cylindrical shape are typically inserted. The dosing structures are formed in these hollow-cylindrical dosing elements.
In the case of all of these drip irrigation tubes, the described suction effect can occur in the region of the outlet openings for the reasons listed above.
The object of the present invention is to configure the drip irrigation tubes in such a manner that particles of dirt are prevented, where possible, from being able to penetrate into the dosing regions of the dosing elements through the outlet openings and from being able to pass into the dosing regions, whereby the corresponding dosing element could become blocked.